#electrocatalysts

How topological surfaces boost clean energy catalysts

The oxygen reduction reaction (ORR) is a key process in fuel cells and metal-air batteries, technologies expected to play a central role in a low-carbon energy future. However, ORR proceeds slowly on most materials, limiting efficiency and increasing costs. Finding catalysts that can speed up this reaction is therefore a major challenge in reducing our energy footprint. Two-dimensional (2D) topological materials have recently attracted attention as potential electrocatalysts. Their unusual electronic properties arise from spin-orbit coupling (SOC), which creates robust topological surface states (TSSs) that can enhance charge transport. Until now, most studies have assumed these surfaces remain clean and unchanged during reactions. But the reality is different. In real electrochemical environments, catalyst surfaces are far from pristine. They constantly interact with the surrounding electrolyte and reaction intermediates, forming so-called electrochemical surface states (ESSs). Understanding how these realistic surfaces affect the topological properties and catalytic performance is necessary if scientists are to utilize 2D topological materials.

Open-source, 3D-printed platform enables low-cost, standardized electrocatalytic research

A problem for researchers has been a lack of an agreed-upon standard gas diffusion electrode reactor to enable robust comparison of catalytic reactions. Instead, the common practice is to compare the performance of a new catalyst for a particular reaction against that of a "standard" or benchmark catalyst, within the same reactor. This practice reveals a further problem when no standard catalyst exists for a reaction, which typically applies to most reactions. In other words, researchers lack a platform to compare reaction processes. Ideally, a new catalyst is compared to a standard catalyst (if it exists), and in a reproducible reactor. To fix this, a University of Sydney-based team with the ARC Center of Excellence for Carbon Science and Innovation developed an accessible, open-source, affordable and adaptable 3D-printed gas diffusion electrode/membrane electrode assembly test reactor: "openGDE" or "bayadjamara." (Bayadjamara is the Australian First Nations' Gadi language name for this project and means air maker.)

Turning nitrate pollution into green fuel: A 3D COF enables highly efficient ammonia electrosynthesis

Ammonia (NH3) is essential for fertilizers and emerging carbon-free energy technologies, yet its conventional production via the Haber-Bosch process is energy-intensive and CO2-emitting. Researchers from Tohoku University and collaborating institutions have now established a structural blueprint for deploying 3D COFs in electrocatalysis, opening new routes toward sustainable nitrate management and decentralized ammonia synthesis. The work was published in the Journal of Materials Chemistry A on February 2, 2026. The researchers achieved this breakthrough by developing a topologically intricate three-dimensional covalent organic framework (COF), TU-82, that delivers highly selective electrocatalytic nitrate reduction to ammonia (NO3RR). By precisely metalating bipyridine pockets within a [8+2]-connected bcu network, the team created TU-82-Fe with atomically dispersed Fe active sites, achieving a peak Faradaic efficiency of 88.1% at −0.6 V vs. RHE and an ammonia yield rate of 2.87 mg h-1 cm-2 at −0.8 V vs. RHE.

Chloride-resistant Ru nanocatalysts developed for sustainable hydrogen production from seawater

The growing global demand for clean energy and rising concerns over climate change have intensified the search for sustainable alternatives. Hydrogen emerges as a promising solution due to its high energy density and zero-carbon emissions. Among production methods, alkaline water electrolysis is efficient and environmentally friendly; however, its dependence on freshwater limits large-scale implementation. Seawater electrolysis offers a practical alternative by tapping Earth's abundant water resources but contains high chloride concentrations that accelerate catalyst corrosion and reduce efficiency, posing a significant challenge for sustainable hydrogen generation. To address this problem, a researcher team led by Assistant Professor Haeseong Jang, Department of Advanced Materials Engineering, Chung-Ang University, and Professor Xien Liu, Department of Chemical Engineering, Qingdao University of Science and Technology, aimed to develop a robust and cost-effective electrocatalyst capable of high-performance hydrogen evolution in saline environments.

Manganese's resilience is key to its use as a catalyst in the oxygen evolution reaction

Scientists have long noted with interest that in one of nature's crucial chemical reactions—the oxygen evolution reaction—it is manganese, rather than more plentiful similar elements such as iron, that acts as the key catalyst. Now, in research published in Nature Sustainability, a research group led by Ryuhei Nakamura at the RIKEN Center for Sustainable Resource Science (CSRS) in Japan has discovered that manganese has a unique ability to act even when there are fluctuations in electrical voltage, and that this ability is critical to its success as a catalyst. This also means that artificially, manganese is a good candidate for applications, such as in wind and solar energy, in which the electrical output fluctuates. The oxygen evolution reaction, which uses energy to liberate protons and electrons from compounds such as water—freeing oxygen in the process—is critical to life on Earth as it functions at the core of photosynthesis. It is the free oxygen produced in this reaction that allows us and other life forms to get energy by breathing.

Researchers uncover role of A-site cation ordering in perovskite anodes for high-temperature oxygen evolution

Solid oxide electrolysis cells (SOECs) are a leading technology for carbon dioxide reduction and energy conversion, offering high current densities, excellent Faradaic efficiency, and low overpotentials. Perovskite oxides are commonly used as SOEC anodes, yet the impact of A-site cation ordering on their oxygen evolution reaction (OER) kinetics remains unexplored. In a study published in the Journal of the American Chemical Society, Assoc. Prof. Song Yuefeng and colleagues from the Dalian Institute of Chemical Physics (DICP) of the Chinese Academy of Sciences, collaborating with Prof. Wang Guoxiong from Fudan University and Prof. Liu Meilin from Georgia Institute of Technology, uncovered the mechanisms underlying the anodic high-temperature OER in SOECs. Researchers focused on how A-site cation ordering affects the electrocatalytic performance of perovskite anodes, and particularly examined the order–disorder transition in PrxBa2-xCo2O5+δ.

AI-driven system blends literature, experiments and robotics to discover new materials

Machine-learning models can speed up the discovery of new materials by making predictions and suggesting experiments. But most models today only consider a few specific types of data or variables. Compare that with human scientists who work in a collaborative environment and consider experimental results, the broader scientific literature, imaging and structural analysis, personal experience or intuition, and input from colleagues and peer reviewers. Now, MIT researchers have developed a method for optimizing materials recipes and planning experiments that incorporates information from diverse sources like insights from the literature, chemical compositions, microstructural images, and more. The approach is part of a new platform, named Copilot for Real-world Experimental Scientists (CRESt), that also uses robotic equipment for high-throughput materials testing, the results of which are fed back into large multimodal models to further optimize materials recipes.

Extending the lifespan of electrocatalysts via continuous chromium dissolution

Although chromium itself is not an active element, its continuous dissolution enables a reversible surface transformation that keeps the Co-Cr spinel oxide electrocatalyst active and stable. This could significantly improve the efficiency of hydrogen production. These findings stem from researchers at Ruhr University Bochum, Germany, the Max Planck Institutes for Sustainable Materials in Düsseldorf and for Coal Research in Mülheim, Forschungszentrum Jülich and the Helmholtz Institute for Renewable Energies in Erlangen-Nürnberg. They report their results in the journal Nature Communications.